The Leader of the Pack
by DominoTyler
Summary: Request from Oghren! My folks were always putting him down They said he came from the wrong side of town They told me he was bad But I knew he was sad That's why I fell for the leader of the pack.


_Hello, everybody! I'm back in the PPG fandom! ^^ A reader, Oghren, wanted another story by me in this fandom, so we've been talking about it and this is the final product! Hope you enjoy it! ^^ Codyhobgood271 also requested a Red Romance, so yes._  
_I don't own the Power Puff Girls, the song "Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las, or any other recognizable material. Thanks! ^^_  
_(AU: the girls and the boys go to the same high school and don't speak often. The boys have retired - mostly - from crime.) (also I took out the ending of the song because Oghren wanted a happy ending)-_

* * *

**_Is she really going out with him?_**  
**_Well, there she is. Let's ask her._**  
**_Betty, is that Jimmy's ring you're wearing?_**  
**_Mm-hmm_**  
**_Gee, it must be great riding with him_**  
**_Is he picking you up after school today?_**  
**_Uh-uh_**  
**_By the way, where'd you meet him?_**  
**_I met him at the candy store_**  
**_He turned around and smiled at me_**  
**_You get the picture? (yes, we see)_**  
**_That's when I fell for (the leader of the pack)_**

Blossom knew that the girls from school had noticed how strange she'd been acting as of late, and she didn't care. As long as they let her be, she'd let them be. She was content to just do her studying and go home for the day, and then start all over the next day.  
But she knew it wouldn't last forever, and after only 3 days, they started to ask questions.  
The first came from two girls in the yard, when she'd been eating her lunch by herself, quietly reading. She knew they were talking about her - the girls were notorious gossips, and the poorest whisperers she'd ever met.  
"Blossom?" One of them finally said, and she looked up politely to hear what they had to say. She wasn't sure quite yet how much she was going to tell them. Maybe telling gossips would be good - then the news would be all over the school and she wouldn't have to repeat herself. But did she want everyone to know?  
She nodded. "Yes?"  
"Is that Brick's jacket?"  
She nodded again. "Yes, it is."  
"Wow, I can't believe he actually asked someone out," said the girl who hadn't addressed Blossom. She said it under her breath, but Blossom heard.  
For a moment she wondered why they weren't wondering why he hadn't been in school the past few days, but then she remembered that it wasn't uncommon for the boys to randomly play hookie throughout the year.  
"Are you going to see him after school today?" asked the first girl. "Is he going to be at the football game?"  
Blossom shook her head.  
For a moment, it seemed as if these girls were going to let her alone, and she was happy.  
But then, when they had started to turn around, one girl swung back and gushed, "How did he ask you out?"  
And Blossom decided to just spill everything. She needed to get it out in the open, and now it would be.

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup were all in the Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Townsville, enjoying a treat after a rather long night of cheering for the High School football team. Bubbles was on the cheerleading squad, and Buttercup was on the football team, so Blossom was the only one who wasn't completely ready to pass out from exhaustion. Once she had the girls in their seat, she got into line.  
She hadn't even noticed who she got into line behind, as she was busy rifling through her purse, trying to find her wallet so she could pay right away when she received her and the girls' ice cream.  
Then the person in front of her turned around, and she noticed just who was in front of her.  
"Hey, there, Red."  
Blossom was completely floored. Brick hadn't spoken to her since he moved back into town. Hearing his voice was kind of surprising, but what was even more surprising was how much he had grown. From far away and when she was just passing him in the hallways, it was hard to notice, but he had definitely grown. He was tall, towering at least two heads above her, and his voice had deepened considerably. His hair was still long but neatly kept, and he wore that silly baseball cap on top of it all.  
She realized she was staring. She blinked and shook her head. "Um, hi."  
He winked. "How've things been?"  
Having found her wallet, she pulled it from her purse and straightened up, facing Brick completely. She shrugged. "Good, I guess. Things have been slow since we put Mojo in the slammer. Most of the other guys are gone or...in high school."  
He laughed. "Yeah, kind of takes up a lot of time, doesn't it?"  
She rolled her eyes. "I thought crime never slept."  
"Sure, but it does hibernate."  
Now she laughed. "Good to know. I'll expect things to pick up after graduation."  
"You can bet on it," he said. He hesitated a moment. "You can also bet on us going out tomorrow afternoon."  
Blossom wasn't entirely sure she had heard him correctly. "Excuse me?"

_**My folks were always putting him down (down, down)**_  
_**They said he came from the wrong side of town**_  
_**(whatcha mean when ya say that he came from the wrong side of town?)**_  
_**They told me he was bad**_  
_**But I knew he was sad**_  
_**That's why I fell for (the leader of the pack)**_

The girls and the professor weren't entirely thrilled at who she had chosen to date, but after going on just one date with him, she was in love. It was hard not to, even with their past of frequently beating each other to a pulp. It seemed almost inevitably that they wouldn't fall in love eventually, they were so completely compatible.  
At first, their relationship was based only on their intellectual conversations, but very soon things got personal, and they had conversations. They talked about their morals, about right and wrong, about crime. They talked about why he felt he needed to commit crimes and about Mojo Jojo and about his brothers.  
They usually spoke in restaurants and at places like that, but on this particular night, they had decided to take a walk through the park. They were holding hands, which was about the furthest they'd ever gone together.  
"Why did you stop committing crimes?" Blossom asked after a long, comfortable silence.  
Brick was a little taken aback by the question - they hadn't exactly brought up their pasts before - but he was willing to answer. He found that, as of late, he was willing to do anything for her. He loved her.  
"I...just kind of stopped," he said thoughtfully. "I can't even remember the last one I did. Probably something stupid, like stealing a candy bar or something. But I guess...once we started high school, I realised that this was all it was ever going to be - stealing and hurting people and laughing about it. It seemed like a kind of bleak future. So I stopped."  
Blossom thought about this for a few moments. She wasn't really sure what to say. In fact, she wasn't really sure why she'd asked such a question in the first place.  
"Another reason..." He started, but when he didn't speak up for a few moments, it was clear he didn't want to go on.  
"Yes...?" Blossom prodded.  
"Well, another reason is because, once I got to high school...well, I saw you again. Remember? We had geometry together. And I think that's the only reason I passed geometry. I tried hard to impress you."  
Blossom was sad that she hadn't even paid any attention to him. She wanted to erase him at the time.  
"And then you talked to me. At the ice cream shop. And things were like...we'd always been friends, rather than enemies. It was then that I knew -"  
Again, he cut himself short.  
They had stopped walking. Blossom moved around to face him.  
"Yes...?" She repeated.  
He smiled softly and brought his fingers to her cheek. "I love you."  
He kissed her, then, and everything was perfect.  
These conversations were why Blossom fell for him. He was their leader, Butch and Boomer's, and he felt he had to act like it to keep them off of the street and out of Mojo's way. It took its toll on him, and he had grown up all wrong.  
Blossom tried to explain this to her family, but they didn't understand, not at all. They didn't understand his family problems, friend problems, and problems. They especially didn't understand his motorcycle and his skipping school and his bad grades. Blossom tried to explain, but they refused to listen to her.

_**One day my dad said, "Find someone new"**_  
_**I had to tell my Jimmy we're through**_  
_**(whatcha mean when ya say that ya better go find somebody new?)**_

Though things had seemed perfect, at home, the girls were refusing to talk to her. They felt betrayed, she understood that, but no matter how many times she tried to explain to them how she felt, they shut her out even more. It was eating away at her.  
She asked the Professor for advice, only to find that he disapproved as well. He told her that he thought it would be best that she should tell Brick that they couldn't see each other anymore.  
Blossom was devastated. She had to choose - her family, or her love.  
It wasn't until the she found the girls were plotting to kick her out that she knew what she had to do.

_**He stood there and asked me why**_  
_**But all I could do was cry**_  
_**I'm sorry I hurt you (the leader of the pack)**_  
_**He sort of smiled and kissed me goodbye**_  
_**The tears were beginning to show**_  
_**As he drove away on that rainy night**_  
_**I begged him to go slow**_  
_**But whether he heard, I'll never know**_  
_**Look out! Look out! Look out! Look out!**_

She asked him to meet her at the park. It was raining, so she was standing beneath the bus stand by the side of the road. He showed up on his flying motorcycle, a creation of his own design. Blossom's heart clenched when she realized she'd never get to ride on the back of his crazy contraption again.  
He looked so happy when he got off, and he kissed her as soon as he landed. "Hey, red!"  
Then he saw the look on her face. "Hey, are you crying?"  
"We can't see each other anymore," she whispered.  
He asked her to repeat what she'd said - the rain was drowning her out.  
She stuttered out her statement again, this time louder.  
"Wh-why?" he asked, confusion clouding his face.  
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I just..."  
He smiled a small smile. "I think I get it."  
He wasn't happy about this, and Blossom knew he'd confront her about it the next day at school.  
But how could she possibly have known what was to happen next?  
He kissed her once more to say goodbye, and he threw his leg over the side of his motorcycle and took out down the street to get some leverage before he would zoom up into the air.  
"Go slowly!" Blossom cried out. "Please! Slow down!"  
But he didn't. Blossom's eyes widened.  
There was the bus.  
"Look out!"

_**I felt so helpless, what could I do?**_  
_**Remembering all the things we'd been through**_  
_**In school they all stop and stare**_  
_**I can't hide the tears, but I don't care**_  
_**I'll never forget him (the leader of the pack)**_

Blossom was crying when she finished her story, as were the two gossips. "We're so sorry, Blossom...we...is he okay?"  
"He's in a coma, staying in the Professor's lab," Blossom replied. "I convinced him to take him in. We're not sure if he'll wake up ever, but I can hope. I can always hope."

That day, Blossom returned home from school. She felt a little better, having everything off her chest and knowing that, very soon, her story would be circulating around the school. It was a relief, but a strange one, because she still wasn't sure if she wanted everyone to know.  
The girls were nicer to her, as they had been since the accident, but she ignored it. If it took Brick getting severely injured for them to accept him, then she wasn't sure she was happy with their acceptance.  
She walked past them into the kitchen and set her book bag on the kitchen table. She headed straight to the lab, then.  
"How is he?" She asked the Professor upon her entrance.  
"It's hard to say," he replied. "He's been twitching a lot recently, which is a good sign. I think he just needs a little more motivation to wake up."  
Blossom nodded and took a dutiful seat at his bedside. The Professor left, then, leaving them to each other.  
Blossom took his hand. It seemed warmer than usual, but that could have just been her. She was always cold, and everything else always felt warm to her.  
"Hi, Brick," she said softly. "They're still staring in school, and it still makes me wan to cry. I can't help it, though. I miss you. I never should have let them convince me to leave you. I don't want to leave you. I love you."  
He didn't respond, but that was to be expected. Nevertheless, she continued to talk to him.  
"I told Janet and Marcia what happened. I think it's safe to say that the entire school will know what happened by the end of tomorrow. I hope that's okay with you."  
She crossed her legs and tucked some hair behind her ear. She tugged his jacket tighter around her body.  
"Boy, I really wish you'd wake up. You were always so good at keeping me warm. As it's so cold in this lab. I wonder if I should turn up the heat...?"  
He continued to lay there, but something seemed...different about him. Almost as if he could hear what she was saying. So he kept speaking.  
"I've been bringing all of your homework along with me. So that you can do it when you wake up. I don't want it to be on me if you fall behind."  
"That is so like you."  
Her heart froze. Her eyes widened. And the only thing she could think: did he just talk?  
And then his eyes opened.  
Blossom threw her arms around his neck, instantly bursting into tears.  
"I knew it!" She exclaimed. "I knew you'd wake up! I just knew it!"  
"Of course I'd wake up," Brick said, as if she were being ridiculous. "How else would I get to hear your apology?" His smile softened. "I'm glad you want me back, though. Try not to break up with me again, okay?"  
Blossom couldn't help it - she laughed. She nodded, the smile still painted on her face. "I won't."  
Then she kissed him, and she just knew things would be better from here on out.

* * *

_Thanks for reading! ^^_

_This is the part I cut out:_  
_**The leader of the pack - now he's gone**_  
_**The leader of the pack - now he's gone**_  
_**The leader of the pack - now he's gone**_  
_**The leader of the pack - now he's gone**_


End file.
